Please patronize our advertisers to help
keep theOzone.net free for everyone.

The-Ozone.net Mall

Interesting, Fun companies with interesting, quality products - and the-Ozone gets a piece of the action!

Football
Big Hank the Next Big Daddy?
By Brandon Castel

COLUMBUS — There is big and then there is Johnathan Hankins.

On a roster full of 300-pounders, Ohio State’s freshman defensive tackle stands alone.

Jonathan Hankins (in red jersey) mixes it up in fall camp.
Photo by Jim Davidson

Despite being just 18 years old, “Big Hank,” as he is known in Columbus, is already larger than just about all of his new college teammates.

“A big guy like that who can move off the ball is a handful,” starting right guard Bryant Browning said.

A senior out of Cleveland Glenville, Browning lists at 313 pounds, and even he has had a tough time moving the 330-pound Hankins off the ball this fall camp.

While his size was obvious, it was Hankins’ athleticism that shocked those who hadn’t seen him play up close until the start of fall camp. That includes senior defensive star Cam Heyward, who had some high praise for the young defensive lineman after watching him in practice.

“It’s unbelievable how he moves. He’s going to be the next great thing around here,” said Heyward, the current big thing around here. 

“He’s going to be like ‘Big Daddy’ around here soon.”

Of course Buckeye fans know Heyward is referring to former Ohio State All-American Dan Wilkinson. Most remember the Dayton native as one of the most dominant defensive tackles ever to wear the Scarlet and Gray. The rest remember him as the No. 1 overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1994 NFL Draft.

What some might not recall, however, is that Wilkinson was forced to redshirt as a freshman in 1991 because he was an overweight offensive lineman. Big Daddy dropped from 348 to 300 pounds during his first year in Columbus and moved to the defensive side of the ball where he would record 23.5 tackles for loss over the next two seasons.  

Hankins is a good 15-20 pounds shy of where Wilkinson was a freshman, but the 6-foot-3 tackle was so large that when he arrived on campus back in June that many of his new teammates weren’t sure he would be able to move well enough to play meaningful snaps at Ohio State; at least none away from the goal line.

“When I first saw him run, I was like, 'this dude's not gonna be able to make one gasser', and he went out there and ran seven or eight, so I was impressed,” starting left guard Justin Boren said, a big guy in his own right.

“You don't think a guy like that can move very well, but he can move.”

Despite his size, Hankins wasn’t all that highly recruited. The Detroit native out of Southeastern High School held offers from Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Alabama when he committed to play for the Buckeyes, but most of those offers came very late in the process. Rated as a three-star prospect by both Rivals and Scout, his weight and grades scared a off a number of high-profile programs, including the Wolverines, who got in way too late.

Scout in particular rated his areas for improvement as intensity and effort, but the Buckeyes have seen plenty of both from Big Hank this fall.

“What impresses me about Big Hank is that he makes plays,” senior cornerback Chimdi Chekwa said.

“That's it. There's not too much thinking in there, but it really just comes down to making plays. I think he's doing a good job of competing for a spot, getting into the rotation and playing this year. I think he's doing a great job.”

They have also seen good technique and quickness off the ball from the freshman, two things Scout listed as strengths for their 48th-ranked defensive tackle prospect.

“I definitely have been impressed,” said Boren, who has gone against Hankins enough this fall to know what the youngster brings to the table. 

“He's a good pass rusher, he's a good run stopper and I think he could definitely contribute this year.”

The Buckeyes are set with two starting defensive tackles in senior Dexter Larimore and sophomore John Simon, but they lost a lot of their defensive line depth from last season. That includes senior defensive tackles Doug Worthington and Todd Denlinger.

Backups Garrett Goebel and Adam Bellamy have also been promising for the Buckeyes this fall, but neither of them has Hankins' unique size and neither has been called “the next great thing” by one of the top defensive linemen in the country.

Donate by Check :

Ozone Communications
1380 King Avenue
Columbus, Ohio

Help us bring you more Buckeye coverage. Donate to the-Ozone.

Click here to email this the-Ozone feature to a friend...or even a foe.

(c) 2010 The O-Zone, O-Zone Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, rebroadcast,rewritten, or redistributed.